It was a stupid idea.

I stared into the one open eye that was carved into the centre of the spirit board. Its hollowed out iris made it seem like it was staring back. I pressed my lips together as I fought with myself.

Yeah, this really is a stupid idea, a frightened little voice whispered inside.

Hadn't I heard a million horror stories about playing with boards like this? Rumors and legends and movies that warned about playing with things you didn't understand. If you weren't careful, all the stories said, you could invite something in, something dark and evil and vicious.

And those dark, evil things were real. I knew that. I knew that well.

But I also knew that there were precautions you could take.

I broke the stare with the eye. My gaze travelled up, tracing over the walls to Luc's messy golden handwriting that hugged the edge of the ceiling. Without thinking, my hand went to the chain that hung heavy on my neck, the chain that held the Polly's strange little key. These things—these protections—had once been enough to repel the Beast. And if they could repel it...

Honestly, I couldn't think of anything more malicious than the Beast.

My attention fell to the board again. I pulled back more velvet, revealing more of the board's surface. It was old, well-worn, but so beautiful. The wood was deep and dark. I ran my fingers over it. It was smooth, almost soft. The edges of the carvings weren't harsh at all. A work of art.

It seemed so harmless lying there, bundled in velvet. It was so pretty, it should be hung on the wall.

This is a stupid idea, the scared little voice inside piped up again. You should really wait for Luc...

The thought of it made knots form in my stomach. I knew that even if I were to ask Luc for his help with the board, he would say no. He wouldn't want me involved. My hand clenched into a fist against the board. Luc... I was so sick of waiting around for him, waiting for someone else to provide the answers. Lock me in a tower, why don't you?

Now, sitting right in front of me—literally—I had the opportunity to find out for myself sitting right in front of me.

I glanced at the barrier again, and continued to gnaw at my lip.

Without risk, there is no reward.

Fuck it, I thought. I pushed back the velvet entirely, freeing the board. I'm already haunted.

Settling back onto the floor in front of the board, I crossed my legs. The nice thing about these were that they were pretty straight forward. You touched that little wedge thing and it moved across the board and pointed out the letters to make words. Easy-peasy. So, where was it?

I dragged its box over and shoved my arm inside. It was so large that my hand barely grazed the bottom. There was nothing. I skimmed along the sides, then even dumped it upside down. Only a dust bunny dropped out.

Damn!

Without the pointer, or wedge, or whatever, the board was as useless as the box it came in. It was probably packed away amongst Luc's other boxes, but in which one? There were so many...

Ugh! I flopped back on the floor. After all that, and I can't even use it. I wracked my brain, trying to figure out some alternative. It just needed to be something that could slide easily across the board. Something like—

There was a strange dull thud overhead. My head whipped up, staring at the ceiling. I lingered in place for a moment, wondering if I had heard it right, before I jumped up and ran up the stairs.

The apartment was the same as before. Quiet. Empty.

I wandered through, wondering where the noise had come from, but nothing seemed out of place. Maybe it had been next door, or out on the street... Or maybe my mind was playing tricks on me again.

My foot knocked against something.

I looked down. A glass— the glass that had been on the counter—was upturned on the floor. I stooped down and picked it up. Though it was made from thick glass, there was now a sizable crack crawling up the one side. Had it fallen?

There was a watery ring where it had once sat on the counter, wet streaks reaching to the edge. Strange...

I turned to toss the broken glass in the garbage when it dawned on me.

The glass.

The glass could work as a pointer!

Holding it close, I darted back downstairs.

Back in the main room, I threw myself down on the floor, into my position in front of the board. The one open eye stared back, like it had been waiting.

With a deep breath, I slowly placed the cup on top of the board, right in the centre, between the two eyes. Then I balanced the tips of my fingers on the top of the cup and waited for something to happen.

All my personal experience had come from slumber parties where we had crowded around cheap cardboard versions bought at a toy store. There were some similarities but besides the alphabet this board didn't have much in common it's Toys R Us counterpart. It didn't have a Hello or Goodbye, or even Yes and No. Just the letters, and the eyes.

How is this supposed to work?

The board stared expectantly at me with its one good eye.

"Hello?" I said aloud, not sure what else to say. "Is anyone there?"

The cup didn't move.

During the sleepovers, I had been pretty sure my friends had been the ones moving the pointer, so I wasn't sure what was supposed to happen next. I tried to remember what we used to say back then. "Are there any s-spirits here with me now?"

The cup remained firmly in place.

I sighed. I was probably doing this all wrong. Maybe I should've checked the internet before I started, though I didn't know what I thought I would find there. Or, that cowardly voice chimed in. Maybe Luc's barrier is working and it's keeping them out. Maybe those girls are something dangerous...

The cup shuddered then, inching to the left, toward the open eye.

I gasped, retracting my hands. Had that actually happened, or had I imagined it? Had it just been the trembling of my fingers?

You want this, I reminded myself, ignoring the whiner. You want to make contact, you want to know. Thinking again of the golden barrier—praying it would keep me safe—I put my fingers back on top of the cup.

"W-who's there?" I asked, my voice trembling, and immediately felt stupid.

But to my shock the cup moved again, for sure this time. I forced myself to keep my fingers in place as it slid slowly across the board in short, jerking motions. It moved from letter to letter

F-R-I-E...

"Friend?" I guessed.

The cup stopped, then inched back into the inner circle, towards the open eye.

Was that some kind of 'yes'? I frowned. "You're... a friend?"

The cup inched away from the open eye, then moved back over it.

Another yes.

I pressed my lips together. Friend...

How can you trust that? The coward inside whined. Wouldn't that be exactly what something evil would say to get me to let my guard down? Stop this now!

I swallowed hard. No, I wasn't going to give up just yet. I needed proof, proof that these were the girls who I had seen, not some bored troll of a ghost.

"Who are you?" I asked.

It took a second, but then the cup started off again. It moved faster, smoother now, like it was getting the hang of this as much as I was. It danced between the M, then the A...

M-A-N-Y.

Many.

I already knew that there was more than one spirit chasing me, but I couldn't fight the chill that crawled up my spine.

I needed more proof.

"Have I seen any of you before?"

My hands jerked forward as it moved quickly to the open eye.

Yes.

"Where?"

The cup took off again, darting around the letters. It seemed eager now.

M-I-R-R-O-R.

The chill in my spine spread, echoing out through my ribs, encasing my chest in ice. Trembles travelled from my fingers up into my arms until my whole body was shaking.

I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take. I needed to get to the point.

"Why are you after me?" I said, my voice quivering.

The cup didn't move.

"Tell me!" I shouted now. "What do you want with me?!"

The cup moved, slowly now. It hovered over the W, then moved to A, then R, and then... N.

Warn.

Were they trying to give me a... a warning?

I inhaled a shuddering breath as the trembling in my right arm began to sharpen—

"Rachel," came Luc's quiet voice from behind me. "What the hell are you doing?"

+ + +

So, now Rachel has an idea of why the ghosts have been following her...
But what do you think they're trying to warn her about?

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please remember to vote & comment if you did!

As usual, I'll be posting the next chapter on Patreon next week, and then on Wattpad the week after that!